February 28, 2007

In which I love my dog

You guys, I love my dog.

She is such a pal. I would like to pay tribute to her tonight, as I near the end of my little sojourn as a single parent, and as I do the nightly ritual of trying to figure out how to take her out in a way that lets her stretch her legs without endangering (or waking) Elliot. By far the hardest part of the last couple of weeks has been trying to balance the conflicting needs of Elliot and Ada, especially when it's been really cold. It is awfully hard to get her enough exercise while still taking care of the boy, and she misses Brandon awfully and is more trouble than usual--she's become a terrible terrible thief of bath toys (today she actually jumped into the bathtub to steal a little rubber dolphin) and, due to the lack of exercise, is more antsy and less responsive to commands when she actually does get a walk.

But really, despite all the difficulty, I don't know what I would do without her. Not only has she become one of Elliot's favorite things to look at, she is just such good company. She's nice, and social, and she and I have good talks after Elliot has gone to sleep. And she makes me get out, and take care of myself a little too.